Hector S Dolphin Food Chain
It was accidentally introduced to new zealand by fouling ship hulls.
Hector s dolphin food chain. Dolphins are part of an ocean food chain. Species such as red cod ahuru arrow squid sprat sole and stargazer comprise the bulk of their diet. Maui s dolphin found off the west coast of north island in new zealand has recently been identified as a subspecies of hector s dolphin. Hector s dolphins have a varied diet that includes cephalopods crustaceans and small fish species.
Hector s dolphins use echo location to locate their prey. The dolphins are a tertiary consumer in this food chain as well since they eat secondary consumers. This subspecies is the world s rarest. It is cultivated for human consumption.
Marine dolphin food chain. Wwf ganges river dolphin a blind. 5 the role this foreign invasive species plays in and how it contributes to my species. They form the base of food webs by making their own food.
They usually feeds in shallow waters with sandy bottom consuming various species of fish such as flounder red cod and mackerel complementing its diet with crabs and squid. This dolphin got its name in honor of sir james hector a scottish scientist who described this dolphin for the first time in the decade of 1870 s. They have distinct black facial markings short stocky bodies and a dorsal fin shaped like a mickey mouse ear. Pyramid 4 5 the kelp undaria pinnatifida is native to japan.
Hector s dolphins feed on fish and other sea creatures found in shallow water with a sandy bottom such as flounder red cod mackerel crabs and squid. Food chain food chain 2. There is a subspecies of hector s dolphin known as maui s dolphin that is critically endangered and estimated to have a population of only 55. The tuna and mackerel.
Hector s dolphin is one of the smallest toothed cetaceans in the world and is endemic to new zealand. Food web food web 3. Dolphins are a type of consumer called a carnivore because they eat only meat. During the spring and summer white fronted terns sterna striata feed with hector s dolphins likely as facultative commensalists by capturing small fish being chased by dolphins.
Hector s dolphins are carnivores piscivores.